DEALING WITH THE GREY MATTER

World Brain Day has just passed recently. It is celebrated on the 22^nd of July every year. You must be thinking, why does this day hold so much of significance? What is the purpose of celebrating it worldwide? The answer is simple. It is celebrated with a view to make people conscious of the brain and its well being. The brain is considered the most important, amazing yet complex organ in the human body.  But the awareness about the brain is very limited among people.

The brain has the size and appearance of a small cauliflower. But thanks to its 100 billion nerve cells, we can think, plan, talk, imagine, and so much more. The brain has two cerebral hemispheres. Each takes care of one side of the body, but the controls are crossed; the right hemisphere takes care of the left side, and vice versa. If each hemisphere were unfolded, it would be the size of an extra-large pizza! For this reason, the brain must fold over on itself many times to fit into the skull. The brain monitors and regulates the body's actions and reactions. It continuously receives sensory information, and rapidly analyzes this data and then responds, controlling bodily actions and functions. The brainstem controls breathing, heart rate, and other autonomic processes that are independent of conscious brain functions. The neo cortex is the center of higher-order thinking, learning, and memory. The cerebellum is responsible for the body's balance, posture, and the coordination of movement. The human brain controls the central nervous system by way of the cranial nerves and spinal cord, the peripheral nervous system and regulates virtually all human activity. The human brain is made up of over 100 billion nerve cells with each brain cell connected to around 10,000 other cells, which equals around 1000 trillion connections in our brain.

So, we now see how important it is to spread awareness and take care of our brain, which is undoubtedly the most important part our body. In fact every part of the body is important, but when it comes to brain, its holds the foremost importance.

So the question arises, what are diseases that affect our brain? Stroke, epilepsy, depression, dementia, traumatic injury, tumors, Alzheimer’s disease, infections, headaches and sleep orders are to name a few diseases. There are a lot of misconceptions about these diseases. For example, in case of brain strokes, there is a notion among people that it cannot be. However, there is scope for both prevention and cure if this is treated on time.

Similar myth is related in case of traumatic injury. But people should be made aware that it is very much preventable and the best way it should be dealt with is to avoid rash driving.

It’s time that people should use the brain to promote better brain health. This can be made possible by religiously taking care of the brain, both mentally and physically. Good sleep, reduced mental tension, yoga, meditation plays a vital role in keeping the brain mentally fit, whereas control of blood pressure, weight and cholesterol also contributes towards healthy brain.

Healthy brain leads to a healthy body!